This easy fish fillet recipe is a little treat from the shores of the Mediterranean in Egypt. Spiced fish fillets cooked in a sauce of fresh tomatoes and peppers. A one-skillet dinner that comes together in 30 minutes!
Most people who are familiar with shakshuka only think of it as the popular North African breakfast–eggs poached in a sauce of fresh tomatoes, peppers and a number of Middle Eastern spices.
But to the people of Port Said and Alexandria, Egypt’s Mediterranean cities, shakshuka is more of a cooking method than in it is a specific dish. There, they also have saucy seafood and fish shakshuka dinners.
The spices I use in this fish fillet recipe are slightly different from what’s in the egg dish; still, the fish fillets are cooked similarly in the spicy fresh tomato sauce, shakshuka-style. And mainly because of its dense, flaky texture, I decided to use cod here.
This light, yet hearty fish fillet dinner is best served in bowls, with lots of the shakshuka sauce and Lebanese rice or your favorite crusty bread, challah or pita.
Here is the step-by-step for today’s fish fillet recipe:
Scroll down for the ingredient list and print-friendly recipe
If you plan to serve this fish fillet with rice, make the Lebanese rice according to this recipe (this step is optional, you can also serve this fish fillet with bread)
In a small bowl, combine the coriander, sumac, cumin, dill and turmeric to make the spice mix. Set aside until needed.
In a large, deep skillet (with a cover like this one) heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Saute the onions for 2 minutes then add the garlic and jalapeno. Cook on medium-high, stirring regularly, until fragrant and golden in color, about 2 more minutes.
Now add the tomatoes and only 1/2 of the spice mix (you will use the rest of the spice mix later). Add the tomato paste, lime juice, water, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
Bring to a high simmer, then turn the heat down to medium-low. Cover and cook the tomato mixture for 10 more minutes; stir occasionally.
Meanwhile, season the fish fillets lightly with salt and pepper and coat on both sides with the remaining 1/2 of the spice mix.
Gently add the fish fillets to the tomato mixture, nestling the fish pieces nicely in it. Cook on medium-high briefly, then reduce the heat to medium.
Cover and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the fish is cooked through (it should be flaky). Remove from heat and top with the fresh parsley and mint leaves. Serve immediately in bowls with Lebanese rice or your favorite crusty bread.
Visit Our Shop to browse quality Mediterranean ingredients used in this recipe.
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Mediterranean Fish Fillet Recipe, Shakshuka Style
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
An all star Mediterranean fish fillet recipe. Fish fillets prepared shakshuka-style in a sauce of fresh tomatoes, peppers and spices. 30 mins; tutorial
Ingredients
For Lebanese Rice see this recipe
For the Fish Fillet Recipe
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp sumac
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dry dill weed
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 large yellow onion (or sweet onion), chopped
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 8 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (or 1 green bell pepper if you prefer mild)
- 5 medium ripe tomatoes, diced or chopped
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 lime, juice of
- 1/2 cup water
- salt and pepper
- 2 lb cod fillet cut into large 4 to 6-ounce pieces
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley for garnish
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Make the Lebanese rice first, according to this recipe (optional)
- In a small bowl, combine the coriander, sumac, cumin, dill and turmeric to make the spice mix. Set aside until needed
- In a large, deep skillet (with a cover) heat 2 tbsp olive oil. Saute the onions for 2 minutes then add the garlic and jalapeno. Cook on medium-high, stirring regularly, until fragrant and golden in color, about 2 more minutes.
- Now add the tomatoes and only 1/2 of the spice mix (keeping the remainder of the spice mix for later use). Add the tomato paste, lime juice, water, salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Bring to a high simmer, then turn the heat down to medium-low. Cover and cook the tomato mixture for 10 more minutes; stir occasionally.
- Meanwhile, season the fish fillets lightly with salt and pepper and coat on both sides with the remaining 1/2 of the spice mix.
- Gently add the fish fillets to the tomato mixture, nestling the fish pieces nicely in it. Cook on medium-high briefly, then reduce the heat to medium. Cover and cook for another 10-15 minutes until the fish is cooked through (it should be flaky).
- Remove from heat and top with the fresh parsley and mint leaves. Serve immediately in bowls with Lebanese rice or your favorite crusty bread.
Notes
- You can use 1 green bell pepper in place for the jalapeno for a milder-tasting dish. You can also use a bit of both peppers, if you like.
- Visit Our Shop to browse olive oils and spices used in this recipe.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Seafood
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
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Made this tonight with sole. It was great! The spices were delicious. I left out the jalapeno because my husband is very sensitive to heat but I did add a good shake of chili powder instead. Definitely going into regular rotation.
Yay! Thanks, Gina!
Made this dish yesterday evening. It went down very very well. My wife is French and thinks only the French know how to cook, so I was so pleased to do this dish and get a big thumbs up from her. It’s now added as one of our favorite dishes which we will do again. I didn’t have Sumac or dill, but it still taste very good. I did add 1/4 glass of white wine. I think next time I might try adding some capers just to try. I don’t want to mess to much with a successful dish.
Excellent recipe and idea!!
I had left over fish that had been breaded and pan fried and was trying to re-invent it as a left over dish. Used your sauce but instead of raw fish, I slipped in my pre-cooked pre-breaded fish. It was phenomenal! Love the spice blend! Truly a shakshouka spice blend and it really works with the fish! Thank you Xo
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing, Doaa!
My 2nd time making this dish, it’s so flavorful, spicy and delicious. It’s a keeper, I cooked also the lebanese rice with vermicelli!!
Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure!! So glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe is amazing! This is one of the best dishes I’ve had in recent memory…. and I made it!
Yay! so glad you enjoyed it.
Easy, fresh, healthy, and flavorful!
Thanks, Ellen!
Great, easy and full of flavor recipe! I used canned crushed tomatoes and omitted the tomato paste. It was fabulous. Thank you for this recipe.
My pleasure! So glad you enjoyed it!
Made this tonight and it was a hit! The only adjustment made was I used a large can of diced tomatoes and omitted the water. My 17 year old son loved it too!
Thanks for your recipes!
Thanks for sharing, Heather!
Looks so yummy! Will try it out today.
Awesome! Hope you love it!!
This looks so good. I’ll be trying this one soon for sure! Thanks for posting!
Hello!
Just a quick question. If I don’t have any jalapeños in the house, would you recommend substituting red pepper flakes or a can of diced green chili’s?
I am planning on making this today for dinner.
Thank You
Another kind of pepper that has a little bit of heat should work here, Sabina. Enjoy
Looks so yummy! Will try it out today.
Great! Enjoy!
I had a dish like this in a restaurant years ago and had been trying to recreate this ever since. This was excellent! I used a bit less heat (for kids) and didn’t have sumac so skipped that and the dil weed (not a fan) and added extra lime. I cooke the tomato mixture for closer to 30 mins but am sure 10 as the recipe reads would be fine. Everyone in the family loved it and it made perfect leftovers. This will be on heavy rotation at our house.
That’s awesome, Kate! Thanks so much for sharing!
Authentic delicious
This recipe was easy and delicious! I did not have the jalapeno or sumac, added very little salt and did not do the garnishes. It was still excellent! We ate almost all of it, although I had hoped for leftovers.
Could i use canned tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes and tomato paste ?
Sure thing, Ash! Canned diced tomatoes will work.